No Love on this Valentine's Day, Streak Reaches Seven at Thomas More

Crestview Hills, KY - In what appeared to be a daunting task for the Geneva College women′s basketball team played out in a similar fashion as the Golden Tornadoes dropped an 84-64 decision to Thomas More College, the 13th ranked team in the country. Geneva College lost for the seventh consecutive time and fell to 8-14 on the season. Thomas More, which is just one win away from its third consecutive PAC title, took advantage of identical 42-32 halves for the 20 point victory.

Geneva College made the five-hour trek to Kentucky on Friday night in preparation of Saturday′s matinee. The Golden Tornadoes put together a solid effort, especially in a first half that saw the Golden Tornadoes remain competitive against one of the best teams in the country.

Thomas More′s eight point lead at 46-38 with 17:12 remaining in the second half turned into a 64-41 advantage thanks to an 18-3 run in the next minutes. Thomas More led the game by as many as 27 points late in the contest before the Golden Tornadoes ultimately dropped a 20-point decision.

The good news for Geneva College is its ability to protect the ball against Thomas More′s pressure defense. The Golden Tornadoes only suffered 13 turnovers in the loss, which is the lowest number all season. Geneva′s defense did watch the Saints shoot 54% from the field in the second half, including a 7-21 effort from three-point range.

Geneva′s offense featured three double figure scorers led by Christine Carugati and Beth DeLuca who each posted 12 points. Michawn Rich scored 11 points and pulled down a team best six rebounds in the loss. Thomas More was led by Jaime Thiem, the defending PAC player of the year, with her 22 points. Teammate Kristen Humphrey scored 21 points in the victory.

The Golden Tornadoes close out the final week of the season by hosting Thiel College on Wednesday night in the home finale. The regular season ends next Saturday with Geneva traveling to New Wilmington to take on rival Westminster College.